Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic, cover and cook until translucent - about 8 minutes. Add pumpkin and stock, stir well. Add rest of ingredients except cream and coconut. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Blend if desired. Remove from heat and add cream. Return to heat and heat just to hot, do not allow soup to boil! (this is when I transferred it to the crock pot). Serve with toasted coconut as a garnish.

Boil the pasta for 3-4 minutes, drain. Mix all of the ingredients together, except one cup of shredded cheese. [I think my husband mixed all of the ingredients together and THEN added the pasta.] Pour into crock pot. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Put crock pot on high for 30 minutes, and then low for another hour and a half; until bubbly.

This is from memory, and I didn't even make it. That's how easy it is. Haha. We're going to make it again in a night or two, so I'll double check everything. This can be prepared and put in the fridge overnight, and then cooked the next day. That's what we did.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Allow the roast to stand at room temperature for about an hour before roasting.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pat the seasoning blend onto all sides of the roast liberally. Place the roast in a roasting pan. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325, and roast until the internal temperature reaches the desired level of doneness (115 for rare). Remove from the oven and allow to stand 15 minutes in a warm place. Slice thinly, and serve with the following yummy accompaniments:

Wine Sauce for Beef

2 1/2 cups beef stock or broth1/2 cup red wineSalt to taste

Bring the stock and wine to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer, uncovered, until reduced to about 2 cups. Add salt to taste. Serve with beef.

Horseradish Sauce

1/4 cup prepared horseradish1/4 cup sour cream1/4 mayonnaise

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Serve with beef. This can be done in advance and kept in the fridge until time to serve. It gets tastier if it has time for the horseradish to develop a bit.

Mix taco seasoning and tomatoes in small bowl. Lay chicken on bottom of crockpot and cover with tomato mixture. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6. Shred chicken, stir and cook for another hour or so.

Line baking pan (I used a Pampered Chef stone bar pan) with tortillas. You will have to tear them into funny shapes to cover bottom. Spread chicken mixture over tortillas and top with cheese. Bake @ 350° until cheese is melted.

Rotisserie chicken and rotini in a fake cream sauce. Here are the ingredients if anyone is interested:

Rotisserie chicken shredded or chunked (depending on what size bites you prefer)1 box of rotini1 block of cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat variety)1 can of cream of mushroom soup (I use 98% FF)

Melt the chream cheese and add the mushroom soup. I add some creole seasoning at this point. You could add actual mushrooms and stuff (DH and I don't eat them). Cook the rotini. Add a few ladles of pasta water to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Toss in the chicken.

Mmmmmmm. Really good. And since it's a fake cream sauce, it's water friendly. If the leftovers seem a bit congealed, add some water before putting in the micro.

A note from Karli: Oh wow, that's very similar to what we had last night. The only difference is I added a package of dry ranch dressing to the cream sauce and we did use mushrooms. We call it chicken stroganoff.

Tonight was one of those forage for a decent recipe kind of nights, so here's what I did. I found these ingredients in the pantry:canned diced tomatoesdiced green chiliesvermicelli (16 oz)... and I had chicken breasts in the freezer and cream cheese and shredded cheese in the fridge.

I boiled the chicken breasts with some seasoning; boiled the pasta; shredded the chicken when done; saved several cups of the resulting broth (but only needed a bit); heated the tomatoes, green chilies, and garlic in some olive oil; put in about two tablespoons of cream cheese; added the chicken; put in a little broth to loosen it up; added the drained pasta; put in a baking dish; topped with shredded cheese; into the oven to melt the cheese.

I hope it's not disgusting. With tomatoes and cream cheese, how could it be, right? (Though I have to admit that the color is less than enticing...)

4 boneless pork chops4 med-large potatoes, thinly sliced1/2 onion, sliced into rings1 can cream of mushroom soup (I doubled the recipe and used one can mushroom and 1 can cream of celery)1 cup of milk

Lay sliced onions in bottom of 9x13 baking pan. Put potatoes on top of onion layer. Mix together soup and milk and pour over onions and potatoes. Place pork chops on top and season with favorite seasonings. Bake at 425° for 1 hour.

Amber adds: Karli, that is the same recipe my mom used for pork chops and it is how I make them now. Yummy! Sometimes I add sliced mushrooms or carrots to it as well. It is also good with sour cream mixed into the sauce and lots of garlic.

All this mention of caprese salad (YUM!) reminded me of something I saw done last year, and did myself at a party this year, to turn caprese into finger food.Get the marinated mozzarella balls (marinated in olive oil and spices, I think), cherry tomatoes, and of course basil. Also get those giant toothpicks. Each toothpick gets a mozzarella ball, a tomato, and a basil leaf. It's a great way to have caprese at a party!

You can use any size pan you want that will determine how much of everything else you use.

Cover the bottom of the pan with half of the ice cream sandwiches. Spread a layer of cool whip over that. Drizzle with hot fudge topping (Hershey's rocks), throw on some unsalted peanuts. Repeat, ending with peanuts. Freeze until firm.

I'm doing a veggie stir-fry tonight since I have a ton of veggies in the fridge I need to use. I'm going to just slice carrots, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, cook, coat in hoisin sauce, add baby corn from a can, serve with rice. I might have some left over tri-tip in the freezer that I'll throw in for protein purposes!

1. Preheat over to 300. Butter the bottom and sides for a springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper (I used waxed paper), butter parchment. Dust paper and sides of pan with cocoa, tapping out excess.2. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in liqueur. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg yolks with 2 T. of granulated sugar until pale and doubled in volume, about 6 minutes. Temper the egg mixture by adding about a cup of the chocolate mixture at first and mixing thoroughly, then stir in the rest of the chocolate mixture.3. In another bowl, with mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add remaining granulated sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/2 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the rest.4. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and the center is just set, 45 to 50 minutes. On a wire rack, cool completely in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. To serve, run a metal spatula around the edge of the pan and unmold cake. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

I also served the cake with fresh raspberries and whipped cream. Maybe it was because I used waxed paper instead of parchment, but my cake kinda stuck to the bottom of the pan a little, I just ran a knife around the edges and unstuck it, it looked fine.

Rub ribs with a dry bbq rub and place in crock pot for 6 hours on low.

Empty contents of beans can (liquid and all) into sauce pan, add Goya seasoning and simmer on low for 30 minutes until beans are soft.

Make rice per directions.

Take pork out of crockpot and fork-flake. Add BBQ sauce and stir (I only like to add a little because I like mine kinda dry, other people add a lot if they like their BBQ sloppy.) Add a spoon or two of the pork drippings from the crockpot for added flavor - if desired!

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.

To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Basically pour everything into a bowl, use your hand mixer to mix it together, and then pour in the pie crust and freeze. It's a bitch to cut, but well worth it. Make sure you have a sharp knife, and some hot water handy when you go to cut it.It started out as a regular refrigerated cheesecake recipe, but after a full 24hrs in the fridge, it wouldn't set up right, so I stuck it in the freezer and it became freezer cheesecake.

For Chocolate I just used a chocolate crust and chocolate whipped topping. DH loved it. I dont' like the chocolate crust, so I can't tell you what I thought.

DIRECTIONSIn a blender or food processor, process raspberries and lemon juice until pureed. Strain and discard seeds. Cover and chill. Place the peach halves, cut side up, on a large piece of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. x 12 in). Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle into peach centers. Sprinkle with vanilla; dot with butter. Fold foil over peaches and seal. Grill over medium-hot coals for 15 minutes or until heated through. To serve, spoon the raspberry sauce over peaches.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

INGREDIENTS3 cups cubed cooked chicken4 medium carrots, cut into chunks3 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks3 celery ribs, sliced1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted2/3 cup water1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper(Poster's note: Ithink next time I will only use half of the soup or even just a dry soup mix with some olive oil. It was a little too saucy.)

DIRECTIONSPlace chicken in a greased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Top with the carrots, potatoes and celery. Combine the soup, water, salt and pepper; pour over vegetables. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 60-75 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Combine the teriyaki marinade with the ground beef and garlic salt. Form into patties. Grill. During the last couple of minutes of grilling, place pineapple slices on the grill until warm and brown. Place pineapple slices on burger add condiments (I used red onion, and the regular stuff) Eat.

Add cranberries and continue to simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger- simmer uncovered for 6 minutes more or until berries have popped and mixture starts to thicken, stirring occassionally

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the okra and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the water and vinegar and simmer, covered, 10-12 minutes. Stir in the sugar and tarragon and boil, hard, until the until the liquid reduces by about half. Season well with salt and pepper.

(you can leave this first step out but it really adds something to the whole mixture! If you do simply leave corn in husks- gently pull bak husks w/otu breaking off and discard silks...put husks back in place and tie ends with piece of husk or string...place on heavy rimmed baking sheet and roast at 450 degress until corn is fragrant and husks are brown (~30 minutes)...then remove kernels from cob and follow recipe as stated)) Brush corn with olive oil- grill ears until kernels soften and develop grill marks (~15 minutes)...cut kernels form cob.

Prepare veggies: scoop seeds from sauash and cut in a/2 lengthwise; peel, core and cut pears into small pieces; dice onion; mince garlic. Put squash flesh side down in baking dish with 3/4" of water...cover and cook on high in miocrowave for 15 minutes- you want it soft but not shriveling. Saute onions in oil on med heat until golden- add garlic, curry, cumin, and brown sugar- mush around for about 45 seconds, Peel outer rind from squash and add flesh to pot with pear and broth. Simmer 10 minutes...let cool. Puree until smooth

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The layered taco dip sounds a lot like my famous potluck bean dip, which I have not been able to eat in a long, long time. Sigh. It is only 4 layers: a can of refried beans, a brick of cream cheese, a layer of salsa, and shredded cheddar. Cream cheese on bottom, then salsa, then beans, then cheddar. (The beans can go under or on top of the salsa... either way works.) Nuke until everything is melty. Ohhhhh, I want some!

I made the Layered Taco Dip in an 9x9 pan last time and had some leftover beans and salsa mix. Together with our other random leftovers and lack of tortillas, I came up with Taco Pie (again, neither tacos nor pie).

1 can refried beans1/2 cup salsa (ish... enough to make it spreadable, not make soup)

Mix and set aside.

1 brick cream cheese1 packet taco seasoning

Mix and set aside.

1/3 jar nacho cheese dip (tostitos queso is good!)

8oz sour cream

8oz shredded cheese - mexican blend, colby jack, cheddar, whatever. Something with some color is nice. I used 50/50 cheddar and colby the last time I made this.

In a relatively shallow pan (9x13 works well with these amounts), spread the bean mixture, then the cream cheese mixture, cheese sauce, sour cream, and shredded cheese. You can add shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomato, olives, or other (disgusting) things that you personally like to the top... but I don't. Serve cold with scoop tortilla chips, sturdy tortilla chips, fritos scoops, ... whatever.

I'm all about minimizing bowls so I mix the beans and salsa in the serving dish. Also, it helps to pop the beans and salsa in the fridge for a while or the freezer for a few minutes and to make sure the cream cheese is soft before trying to spread it.

Mmmmmm..... sofrito. My favorite way is with calamari (rings and tentacles).

Lightly coat the calamari with some flour mixed with a little bit of garlic powder, salt, black pepper and smoky paprika. Quickly fry the calamari (no longer than 45 seconds - 1 minute per batch). Heat the sofrito on the stove top with finely chopped good sausage (like andouille). Once it is nice and hot, spritz some lemon over it, mix it with the calamari and enjoy. Oh. So. Yum. BTW - this is an appetizer at Bahama Breeze, but they use calamari steaks, not the rings and tentacles...

Put the stock in a saucepan and turn it to medium high. Add the diced tomatoes, the stems from the cilantro, the garlic, and the chiles. Let simmer 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide skillet (preferably an ovenproof one, otherwise you're going to have to move this stuff into something ovenproof later) over medium heat. Add the noodles and saute until browned. Puree the stuff from the saucepan and strain it. Pour most of it into the skillet with the noodles. Simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. If the noodles aren't soft yet and they're getting dry, add a bit more stock.

Meanwhile, preheat your broiler.If you don't have this stuff in an ovenproof skillet, now is the time to move it to a short, wide dish that can stand up to the broiler. If you do, just keep going. Sprinkle the cheeses over top and broil until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven. Stir your sour cream with a fork and drizzle it over top, then sprinkle the cilantro over top. Serve.

I just used the thin sliced pork chops that were in the fridge, and a bag of mixed veggies(brocc, cauli, and red peppers and corn) and threw in a few pinto beans to make it look like more food to DH, and used about a tablespoon of minced garlic and who knows how much soy sauce(a couple of squirts from the bottle?).

Lightly grease or spray a 13x9 casserole dish and cover bottom with 2 large flour tortillas. Spread 1/2 of meat across top and then 1/2 cheese mixture above that. Sprinkle with taco cheese. Cover again with 2 large tortillas, remainder of meat and remainder of cheese. Sprinkle taco cheese generously over the top and bake at 350.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Much to my mothers dismay - I never measure - afterall recipes aren't carved in stone - they're written on paper.

For the 'shrooms: some balsamic vinegar (good stuff) some EVOO (okay stuff) Liquid Smoke (not too much a little goes a long way with this stuff) McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning WaterPut it all together and poured it over them and let them soak it up for about 4 hours - then just grilled until tender

My Caprese Tomatoes - chunked up (I like to get all the juices out of them into the bowl for the sauce) Chunks of Mozzarella Very good EVOO - dipping quality!!! McCormick California Style Garlic Salt w/Parsley Italian Seasoning (Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme )Let it all get happy together then save the sauce for dipping with crusty bread.

I'm trying my hand at making fruit slushy ice today. I had 2 cartons of fresh raspberries that were going to go bad if I didn't use them. I found a recipe in this month's edition of Cooking Light (thanks Heather!) for blackberry slushy ice, and I just substituted raspberries. I used all my fresh and half a bag of frozen to equal the 1 pound. If this works out well, I'll try another batch with splenda, just to decrease the sugar we are consuming. If I like it, then I'll make different fruit slushy ice and serve it with frozen margaritas. Then, island grill night at my house will have jerk chicken, limey-coconut rice and fresh fruit slushy margaritas! My house will be popular....

Mix water and sugar in saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Pour into blender with remaining ingredients and puree. Pour through strainer into glass baking dish. Place in freezer and stir with a fork every 45 minutes until frozen. After about 3 hours, fluff with fork and serve. Will keep in freezer for 3 days.

Divide dough in half; cover half and set aside. Place remaining half on waxed paper or plastic wrap; press into 8-inch square. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon each of the red sugar and blue sugar. Using waxed paper to lift, roll up dough. Repeat with remaining dough and colored sugars. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

Or you can also mix (in a large zipbag), yogurt with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of your favorite fresh salsa. I like to use the baja salsa from "Baja Fresh" restaurant. Marinate chicken at least 4 hours then grill.

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 6 cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Cook 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add the curry powder, turmeric, salt, and cardamom. Add chicken and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Here are the sauces that I make regularly using plain yogurt:1) the tzatziki that you mentioned2) raita - which is very similar to tzatziki depending on how you make it... drained yogurt, drained grated cucumbers, cilantro, salt, and whatever spices (I usually use a little mint and a decent amt of cumin; my MIL would probably put in cumin & red chili powder) - served with any Indian/Pakistani food I make3) yogurt tahini sauce from the falafel recipe that's on the blog: 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice2 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)1 garlic clove, minced

Yogurt usually lasts a while, so you could use the rest of it next week by making some Greek-style grilled chicken and putting it in pitas with tzatziki. You can substitute sour cream for yogurt in a lot of things - even on a baked potato. You can make a "curry" chicken salad - cubed chicken, celery, apples, dried cranberries, with a sauce of drained yogurt, a little mayo, & curry powder. Also you can bake lots of stuff with yogurt. There are a bunch of recipes on Cookinglight.com. I know I have made some CL coffee cake or blueberry coffee cake (or maybe both) a few times with yogurt and it was amazing, but I can't remember which one it was right now.

And another way I use yogurt is to thicken sauces in Indian dishes. The two that I'm thinking of right now are:

KeemaGround beef (actually should be lamb, but I'm not a lamb cooker) with garlic, ginger, onion, diced tomatoes, spices, & yogurt. I've had ppl tell me to make it a number of different ways, but the simplest on was where you brown the beef & onions with all the spices, garlic, & ginger and then throw in the tomatoes and the yogurt toward the end. The basic spices are turmeric, cumin, & red chili powder. You can add other stuff like cloves, cinammon, cardamom. It might be just as easy to use a premade garam masala and some extra chili.

The basic idea with doing turkey burgers, turkey meatloaf, or whatever, is that you have to add a little liquid back, preferably with strong flavors, to keep it from getting dry and yucky. Usually sauteed onions and garlic help, you can also do stuff like throw mustard directly into the meat and the like. So this is just one possibility. The spinach has a lot of moisture in it and, well, cheese is always good. Even just throwing BBQ sauce into the patties helps considerably. So the onions and garlic aren't necessities.

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil and butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Wring the defrosted spinach dry. Throw everything into the bowl, mix together, and form four patties from this. Raise the heat to medium high, add the patties, cook 6 minutes on each side (or grill them, whatever).

She tops it with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, sauteed onion slices, shredded arugula and hot peppers, then slathers the top bun with a mix of roasted red peppers and olives.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Tear off around 5 feet of aluminum foil and fold it in half to give double thickness. Place beets in the middle of the foil and everything else on top, folding the bottom up some before adding the liquids. Then seal the foil around the beets. Put on a baking sheet, place in the oven, and cook around an hour, until tender.

A cheap alternative for the planks (which are outrageously priced for a piece of frickin wood) is to get some cedar fence boards and cut to size. Disclaimer - Make sure they aren't treated, but I don't think many (if any) are.

Ribs in a foil boat won't cut it here in Texas... If you have a 3-burner 2-tier grill you can adjust it with one burner to get about 250 degrees and put the ribs on the far side on the 2nd tier. Put some wet wood chips in the foil boat and seal it up, then put it over the burner (may have to put it under the grill, right on the burner) to get some smoke. Add wood as needed but don't overdo it. Put some dry rub (search www.recipe.com or similar site for rib rub) on the ribs ahead of time and smoke for ~3 hours. Let them sit covered for a while when they're done, if you have the patience... mmmmmmm Not a quick meal but good for a weekend when you're puttering about outside anyway.

My favorite grilling these days is the little pork riblets. They're pretty cheap too. I use the same rub I use for regular ribs, or for variety I use lemon pepper, steak seasoning, season-all, garlic salt, or whatever sounds good. Trim them good. Grill on medium heat until they're done, moving the done ones (they'll shrink when they're done) to the top rack. Make sure and let them sit covered for a while after they're done. Tear them up into single-bone pieces to eat.

Another way to prepare salmon is to use alder or other wood planks, available in some Costco and grocery stores. Soak the planks, then put the fish right on it. The alder protects the flesh of the fish and adds a sweet smoky flavor. Top with lemon.

Next weekend I'm doing chicken and ribs. We like a marinade called Dakota Buckaroo. The chicken will be done over low heat because these are quarters with the bone-in, so they have to be done slower to avoid raw meat around the bone. The ribs will be done over low heat in a foil boat to avoid flare-ups that char the outside and cause them to be done too soon.

Okay, here's my marinade ... it's so damn good, I should bottle it, but it wouldn't be the same. Sorry no real measurements, I just eyeball it.

I get the steaks all laying in a shallow dish. Then I sprinkle on a light dusting of cumin, both sides, then I really cover/layer one side with onion powder and garlic powder (I get the really good garlic granules from the bulk bin), I flip over to coat both sides.

I'm usually into using fresh onion and garlic, but this is one instance where the dry works well (as long as it hasn't been sitting on the shelf for years ).

I poke holes in the steak with a fork so the marinade sinks in; I know some people are against this since it could let the juices drain, but I've never had a problem with them drying out.

Let's see, then I add some dried red chili pepper flakes, then some dried or fresh cilantro. I sprinkle on some Tabasco sauce, not too much, can make it have that sour taste.

Then I pour on some lite-sodium soy sauce and then some beer (amber or darker). Not too much liquid, you don't want to drown it (DH did this, so now he lets me add the liquid). Just enough to pool some liquid under/around the steaks. Then I take extra care to make little divots/craters on top that I spoon on marinade. Marinate for 1-4+ hours. Yummmmy!

The soy sauce and beer help the marinade seep in and, gawd, what's that word ... my daughter starts being loud and naughty everytime I get on the computer and I CAN'T think ... oh, tenderize.

You can leave out the cilantro and it still tastes good. I can't seem to find the dried cilantro anymore at the bulk bins (of course, it was something I liked, so they discontinued it) and I don't always have fresh on hand.

Marinade: Italian dressing for a quick marinade, or melt a mixture of butter, rosemary, garlic, and oregano and a squirt of lemon juice (plus salt and pepper). Put marinade in a large ziplock bag with asparagus for at least half an hour before grilling. DELICIOUS!

Steaks: (Rib Steaks are my favourite) Any spice mixture you want. I favour a basic salt, pepper and cajun spice mix... DO NOT flip your steaks more than once! (sorry Jake, lol!)

Our new favorite thing to grill is a turkey London broil. Yummy and good for you! We usually top it with a teriyaki sauce.

Oh, and veggies on the grill (red peppers, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, etc.) are great. We usually kabob them just because they are easy to deal with that way. I light brush of olive oil and s&p is usually all we do for those.

Some of our favs are kabobs with either chicken or steak, bell peppers, onions & mushrooms. Corn on the cob is great on the grill...just peel back the husks & rip the hairs out, spread on some butter & seasoning salt or chili powder and fold the husks back on & throw on the grill. We like grilled salmon. Marinate some salmon filets in a marinade of soy sauce & brown sugar. Good ole' BBQ chicken is always great too. Asparagus is fabulous on the grill also!

Grab a bottle of Garlic & Herb 30 minute marinade & dump it on some chicken that you've cut into 1 inch(or so) cubes. Cut up some onion(sweeter variety like Vidalia or Walla Walla) & bell pepper(I prefer yellow or orange b/c they're sweeter) also into 1 inch pieces. You can also use cherry tomatoes if you like. Take the chicken & veggies & alternately thread them onto skewers(if bamboo or wood, be sure to soak them first so they don't burn up). I like to spray the veggies w/ I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray(butter flavor) & then grill them over med-high heat until chicken is done, turning every so often to each side of chicken is grilled. To make it easier, you may want to put the chicken & veggies on separate skewers.

Asparagus. Just go ahead and throw it on there. Whip up a hollandaise sauce inside (or on the burner attached to your grill). We make that as a side with almost every grill dinner we do. We go for the basics - turkey burgers, chicken with BBQ sauce, steak. I put a little butter on our steaks... a la Ruth's Chris. Yum...

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Whisk sour cream and chipotle chiles in small bowl; season with salt. Whisk brown sugar and next 5 ingredients in another small bowl to blend for spice rub.

Place zucchini and bell pepper on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with canola oil; toss to coat. Sprinkle spice rub over both sides of vegetables and chicken.

Place chicken and vegetables on barbecue. Grill until vegetables are tender and browned in spots and chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to work surface; cut chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Cut vegetables crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces. Place chicken and vegetables in large bowl; toss to blend.

Place chicken and vegetables, chipotle cream, tortillas, slaw, and lime wedges on table. Allow guests to assemble their own soft tacos.

*Chipotle chiles canned in a spicy tomato sauce, which is sometimes called adobo, are available at some supermarkets, at Latin markets, and at specialty foods stores.

**Available at specialty foods stores and from tienda.com.

Test-kitchen tip: To warm tortillas, wrap in foil in packets of six. Place packets at the edge of the grill; turn occasionally.

Makes 6 servings.

Bon Appétit

Menus

NOTES:

This would be good for a party/guests.

We used flour tortillas instead.

I halved the recipe for the two of us.

Go easy on the chipolte peppers until you know how hot you can take it … you can always dip in the leftover adobe sauce … we did ¾ of a chipolte chili from the can (without the seeds) and added it to 8 oz sour cream(I pureed in my small food processor).I used the Embasa brand of chipolte peppers in adobe sauce.

I just used the paprika I had sitting on the shelf, other reviewers of the recipe added cayenne pepper if they didn’t have the called-for paprika and if they wanted it spicier, but it was hot enough for me.

I did not do the zucchini or bell peppers, I would do red bell peppers though

I put a little bit of oil on the chicken as I added the spices … I used safflower oil because I did not have canola

For the slaw mix, I did 1/3 of the recipe, except I went crazy on the fresh cilantro.I used safflower oil and I have used fresh lime or the bottle of lime juice that has been sitting in the fridge for forever, still turned out yummy.Add more lime to taste.I used sea salt.

We just nuked (aka micowaved) our tortillas as we made our tacos.You can dip into the sour cream mixture instead of putting it on each taco, in case, it’s too spicy for someone.I put it on mine and dip extra, yummmm!

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CILANTRO SLAW

12 ounces BAG of shredded three-color coleslaw mix (about 7 cups)

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place coleslaw mix and cilantro in large bowl. Whisk canola oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add to cabbage mixture; toss to coat.

chicken ... use a southwest or other spicey type of rub, I kind of start it out on a low heat on the grill, then move it to foil (boat/tray) to cook in some butter, oil, and/or white wine ... then sear again at the end. Helps keep it from getting too dry. Serve with rice/beans. You can put cheese and bacon over it too (and mushrooms) ... this is a non-diet food ideas from the Outback (too spendy to eat there).

I grill it on a piece of aluminum foil, make a little boat/tray out of it, with butter, lemon, capers, white wine, tarragon or other spice. You can always sear it on the actual grill at the very end (if it doesn't fall apart).

I've got some 1" NY Strip steaks in the fridge right now. Salt, pepper, put on a grill on low for 25-30 minutes (should result in medium-rare to medium done). Flip every five minutes. When flipping, rotate 45 degrees to achieve diamond-style grill lines.

For the chicken and pasta I did kind of a bastardized version of paprikash csirke (chicken paprika -- a Hungarian recipe) -- sauteed a bit of onion, threw in cut-up chicken breasts, seasoned with salt, pepper, and lots of paprika while cooking, then when the chicken was ready I added a bunch of sour cream -- probably about 8 ounces. Mixed it all together and served it over the noodles. Normally I'd do the onions in some bacon fat, I'd use a whole bird cut up into 10 pieces, when the liquid ran out I'd add some stock, and I'd use some half-sharp paprika in the mix rather than just the sweet paprika.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

When I cook corned beef I use the slow cooker. Just add about one inch of water in the bottom, rub the seasoning on the meat and put in in the cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. It will be so tender and yummy.

My favorite way to eat it is to put the meat into a soft sandwich roll with swiss cheese and mustard. Put it under the broiler for a minutes until cheese it melted and eat. It is ooooh sooo good this way.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Here it is. It's from Julee Rosso's Fresh Start, although I've messed with it a bit and I don't bother measuring past the dressing stage. Really, who does for salads? She throws in some parsley and lime zest and doesn't have the coconut.

In a saucepan, combine ginger, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and water over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the pineapple and cook 15 minutes or so, until the sauce thickens and the pineapple's coated with the syrup. Stir in the coconut. Throw it in a salad bowl over the spinach and onion, toss well, serve immediately.

What to do: First, preheat the oven to 400.Spray an oven-safe skillet w/the veg oil spray (we actually used a bit of olive oil) and cook the onions over medium heat until they start to carmelize and turn brown (isn't that the same thing?) along the edges.

While the onions are cooking, whisk the ricotta and the eggs together in a bowl. (Duh!)

After the onions are done, add the spinach and continue cooking over medium heat until it wilts.

Remove onion and spinach from heat and spread evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Pour egg/ricotta mixture over the veggies and place in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until it's done when you insert a knife in the center. Cut into slices and serve.

The recipe says you can sub the spinach for green beans, carrots, corn, or any other veggies you have on hand. You can do garlic for onion too. I have no idea what we're having with it or how it'll taste...so we'll see!!

Do you have a crockpot? If you do, that makes it really easy to cook dried beans -- you soak them all night and then put them in the crockpot in the morning. Cans of beans are pretty inexpensive, but dried are even more so.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Someone metioned Kalamata olives. I am impressed they are being sold all ove the world (For the record, Kalamata is a Greek city in Peloponese.) If you want your kid to eat kalamata olives put them in a tomato salad with some good virgin olive oil. The oil will take away the bitter sour taste, also kalamata olives are VERY good with feta cheese, oregano and peppers in the salad.

Nutritional Information

**NOTES** This is very fresh & summery. It doesn't really feel like a full meal. I made a few of subs... whole wheat spaghetti for vermicelli, brown sugar for honey, and 1 tsp dark sesame oil and 1 tsp chile sesame oil for the 2tsp dark (next time I'll just use 2 tsp chile).

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, and tofu; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir-fry for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, corn, and the next 8 ingredients (corn through jalapeno). Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until the corn is tender. Serve with rice. Sprinkle with cashews.

Nutritional Information

**NOTES** You can't even notice the jalapeno. I will definitely try to get some more spice in there next time. I will try to find Thai basil to use and maybe add some crushed red pepper (I have super hot red pepper flakes from an Indian grocery).

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

One of my favorite easy meals....White rice, black beans, shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar) and cilantro. Mix it all up and viola...garlic salt to taste (I'm an NaCl freak!)

Yum...very yummy and filling. For a healthier version you could use brown rice, but I honestly cannot figure out how to cook brown rice. Every time I make it, no matter how much water I use or how long I leave it in the rice cooker, it seems under done/a bit chewy/crunchy. hmmm?

Take a fresh pineapple, peel, core and slice about 1/2 inch thick slices.Dip slices in coconut milk then dredge in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Cook on a medium hot grill, maybe 2-3 minutes per side.Serve with vanilla ice cream, or just eat it plain as a side dish.

Cream sugar and butter with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and bananas. Mix until bananas are mashed. Add flour, baking powder and pudding. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Bake at 350° in greased cake pan for approx 45 minutes.I frosted this with cream cheese frosting and it is very yum-o!

Pour half of coconut milk into saucepan. Add curry paste and mash and stir until blended. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until coconut milk becomes oily. Add the rest of the coconut milk and cook for 30 minutes. Add chicken and bamboo shoots and cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Stir in fish sauce and sugar. Add Basil and hot peppers. Stir. Serve with steamed rice. (take the peppers out before eating they are super hot!)

Mix all ingredients except for bread crumbs...make sure they are juicey (may need to tweak wine to accomplish this). If they become too juicey throw in some bead crumb (not too much). Dust in bread crumb. We do these under the broiler but they can also be grilled.For all the burgers we provide fresh lettuce, cheeses (fresh sliced mozzarella, cheddar, etc), mushrooms, onions, etc. We also brush the rolls with butter (mixed with fresh minced garlic) and grill before serving.

I will make hand cut fries from white poatatoes and sweet potatoes and bake them. We will also have corn on the cob and fresh fruit medley.

* cracked what and bulgur are NOT the same- bulgur is parboiled and dried and then has the outer layers stripped before cracking- not so with cracked wheat. You can find real cracked wheat in Indian Food Stores, commonly called daliya.

Pour boiling water over TVP and tomato paste in bowl; stir; let rest for 10 minutes. Combine TVP mixture and all remaining ingredients except flour in food processor; pulse until mixture is almost a puree; shape mixture into burgers (it can be sticky so I sometimes flour my hands first). Dust lightly with flour and refrigerate for one hour. These can be grilled for about ten minutes per side as long as they are covered with foil.

Grind potato, tofu and onion in food processor- be careful not to make it too fine. Mix in remaining ingredients and form into burger shape. I usually bake these on a slightly oiled cookie sheet for 15-20 mins at 350º. (I guess they could also be fried)